For the third time in two seasons, an Astros game Wednesday on Comcast SportsNet Houston had a 0.0 Nielsen household rating. Dallas Keuchel threw a four-hit complete game to lead the Astros to an 8-1 afternoon win over the A’s, but the CSN Houston broadcast did not draw enough viewers among Nielsen-metered households to achieve […]
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U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur, who is presiding over the Comcast SportsNet Houston bankruptcy case, isn’t going to give the network a third strike when it comes to reorganization delays, Astros owner Jim Crane said this week. Isgur last week granted attorneys for the Astros-Rockets-Comcast partnership a second extension, through Aug. 7, to prepare a […]
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The Astros are appealing a second case to U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes, this time involving the civil lawsuit filed against Comcast and former Astros owner Drayton McLane. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur last month denied the Astros’ request to return the civil case to state court, where it originally was filed last November. The […]
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The Astros, Comcast and Rockets have agreed to allow U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes to mediate a potential resolution in the Comcast SportsNet Houston bankruptcy case. Rockets owner Leslie Alexander, Astros owner Jim Crane and a Comcast executive signed the mediation agreement during a seven-hour, closed-door session Friday with Hughes, who is hearing the Astros’ […]
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Jim Crane’s Astros ownership group has asked that its lawsuit against former Astros owner Drayton McLane, Comcast and NBC Universal be moved back to state court because of, among other reasons, the efficiency of Harris County’s civil courts in dispensing with cases. In a 29-page brief filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur, attorneys for […]
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Attorneys for former Astros owner Drayton McLane asked a federal judge Friday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by current team owner Jim Crane and, in the process, chided the Crane administration for the Astros’ “abysmal” performance the last two seasons. Crane’s Houston Baseball Partners group last November filed suit against McLane, NBC Universal and Comcast, […]
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In a series of blunt observations and admonitions Friday to a dozen-plus lawyers in the fractious Comcast SportsNet Houston bankruptcy case, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes encouraged the Astros, Rockets and Comcast to work toward making the network financially viable while the legal aspects of their dispute wind their way through court. Hughes will preside […]
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Citing concerns that the value of Comcast SportsNet Houston is declining with each day, attorneys for Comcast have asked a federal judge for a accelerated reorganization process if the judge chooses next month to keep the network under bankruptcy court jurisdiction. The motion could be argued as early as Feb. 4 before Bankruptcy Judge Marvin […]
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Astros owner Jim Crane and general manager Jeff Luhnow are adamant that the team’s lawsuit against former owner Drayton McLane and Comcast won’t interfere with their stated desire to raise payroll this winter. “His mission is still the same,” Crane said of Luhnow. “They’re still up there working right now trying to improve the team. […]
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Astros owner Jim Crane said Friday the ballclub has lost tens of millions of dollars and “perhaps hundreds” of millions because of a business plan for Comcast SportsNet Houston that was based on inflated numbers demanded by former Astros owner Drayton McLane and Rockets owner Leslie Alexander and endorsed by Comcast. Crane’s comments came during […]
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In perhaps a worst-case scenario where some deal to restructure Comcast SportsNet Houston is not reached, the Astros are prepared to investigate whether an alternate means of broadcasting games is viable. “Certainly, we hope it’s resolved in some favorable manner to all the parties,” Crane said. “We want to get that done. We’ve gone out […]
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Comcast and the Astros traded tartly worded legal documents in their struggle over the future of Comcast SportsNet Houston on Tuesday, with less than two weeks to go before an Oct. 28 court hearing that could decide the fate of the network and its 130 employees. The Astros, in their submission to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge […]
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The Astros on Tuesday accused Comcast of using bankruptcy proceeds as a “smokescreen” for its plans to cheat the ballclub out of its ownership share in Comcast SportsNet Houston and Comcast. The accusation is included in the Astros’ 32-page motion, filed on Tuesday with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur, in opposition to requests by four […]
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The Astros asked a federal bankruptcy judge Monday to dismiss an involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed Sept. 27 against the parent company of Comcast SportsNet Houston, describing the effort by Comcast and its affiliates to restructure the Astros-Rockets-Comcast partnership through bankruptcy as a “road to nowhere.” The 35-page document was filed with U.S. Bankruptcy […]
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One of NBC Universal’s top distribution executives attended Mayor Annise Parker’s second closed-door meeting Wednesday on Comcast SportsNet Houston distribution and said he thought the meeting with the mayor and officials with AT&T U-verse was productive. Matt Bond, executive vice president of content for the company that owns a minority interest in the Astros-Rockets network, […]
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